Conversations With Other Women

When men and women talk, they're rarely on the same page, said Chris Knight in the Toronto National Post. 'œSo why put them on the same screen?' That's evidently the reasoning behind the central gimmick in Hans Canosa's Conversations With Other Women. Two unnamed characters, a woman played by Helena Bonham Carter and a man played by Aaron Eckhart, spend the entire film separated by a split screen, even when sharing a room. The good news is that the story is strong enough to overcome any resistance to this technique. Fifteen years after they were first romantically entangled, the man and woman meet at a wedding, said Kyle Smith in the New York Post. She's married with kids. He's living with a much younger dancer. They flirt and dig at each other before ending up in bed. Gabrielle Zevin's script is 'œhonest and tender at the same time.' And it's a treat to see Bonham Carter out of an ape suit and at her dazzling best. Even in bed, the actors stick resolutely to their sides of the screen, suggesting that the film was not so much directed as 'œhandled by a really good lawyer,' said Anthony Lane in The New Yorker. The balance feels 'œboth witty and bleak'; it's impossible to shake off the gulf between these two people. But while Canosa milks his gimmick for all it's worth, it ultimately makes the movie feel claustrophobic. 'œYou want Canosa to get out of the hotel and onto the streets.'

Rating: R

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